Election judge Adam Ballinger receives a ballot from a motorist at the Denver Elections Division drop off location in front of the City/County Building Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Election judge Michael Michalek, left, takes ballots from voter Lee Cryer as he drops them off at the Denver Elections Division location in front of the City/County Building Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Tom Boes of Denver jumps off his skateboard to deposit his ballot in the collection boxes at the Denver Elections Division drop off location in front of the City/County Building Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Election judge Adam Ballinger receives a ballot from a motorist at the Denver Elections Division drop off location in front of the City/County Building Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski

Election judge Michael Michalek, left, takes ballots from voter Lee Cryer as he drops them off at the Denver Elections Division location in front of the City/County Building Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski

A sign directs voters to the Denver Elections Division drop off location in front of the City/County Building Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski

Tom Boes of Denver jumps off his skateboard to deposit his ballot in the collection boxes at the Denver Elections Division drop off location in front of the City/County Building Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski

An election judge helps a voter with a question about the ballot at the Denver Elections Division Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski

People check election results on their electronic devices, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, at the Eagle County Democratic Party watch party, at Old Edwards Tavern in Edwards, Colo. (Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily via AP)

Chris Dillmann

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper goes over some notes before making his rounds with the media at an election watch party in Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)

Jerilee Bennett

With stylized mural of the city above them, voters cast their ballots at the Denver Elections Division Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado voters have rejected a proposal that would have tightly restricted where new oil and gas wells could be drilled statewide.

Proposition 112 would have required that new wells be at least 2,500 feet (750 meters) from occupied buildings and "vulnerable areas" such as parks, creeks and irrigation canals. It also would have allowed local governments to require even bigger buffer zones.

Groups backed by the energy industry pointed to a state analysis that determined the measure would make 85 percent of non-federal land in Colorado off-limits to drilling.

Supporters of the measure say the stricter rules will better protect people and the environment.

The state currently requires wells be 500 feet (150 meters) from homes and 1,000 feet (300 meters) from schools.

———

8:50 p.m.

Colorado voters have rejected a proposal to raise income tax rates to fund public education.

Amendment 73 would have increased the state individual income tax rate for people who earn more than $150,000 a year and boosted the corporate income tax rate to raise an additional $1.6 billion annually for schools.

The proposal was defeated Tuesday in a state that has typically been averse to raising taxes. Voters rejected similar measures in 2011 and 2013 by a 2-to-1 margin.

Opponents argued the measure would be bad for the economy and would not guarantee better academic performance. They also said the Legislature would not have been able to adjust tax thresholds to account for inflation.

———

8:40 p.m.

Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette has won re-election to her 12th congressional term.

Polis' victory Tuesday keeps the governor's seat in Democratic hands. The 43-year-old Polis will succeed the term-limited John Hickenlooper to become Colorado's first openly gay governor.

Polis is a five-term congressman and technology entrepreneur who promised to fight for universal health care, renewable energy standards and publicly funded preschool and kindergarten. He vowed to stand up to President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle former President Barack Obama's health care law.

Stapleton is a two-term state treasurer who campaigned on defending Colorado's constitutional restrictions on taxing and spending. The 44-year-old Stapleton insisted Polis' ideas for funding K-12 education, roads and energy would bankrupt the state.

Crow is a former U.S. Army Ranger who was national Democrats' choice to take on Coffman. He won Tuesday after outspending the incumbent, who lost TV ad spending from the national Republican Party in the campaign's final weeks.

Coffman is an Army and Marine veteran who until Tuesday had repeatedly won in a district that has increasingly turned Democratic. He faced his toughest challenge yet against Crow.

The Democrat sought to wed Coffman to President Donald Trump's immigration policies. He also criticized the Republican's pro-gun stance in a district that saw the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting.

Coffman represented Colorado's 6th Congressional District since 2009 and served twice in Iraq.

Denver police are investigating after someone left burning campaign literature on the doorstep of a leading proponent of a ballot measure to remove a reference to slavery in the Colorado Constitution.

Jumoke (Jah-moh-KEE') Emery says his wife smelled smoke and found a pile of pro-Amendment A door hanger literature smoldering on their front porch Monday.

Police said Tuesday that detectives who specialize in bias-related crimes are investigating.

Mirroring the language of the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Colorado's Constitution currently allows slavery or involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime.

Amendment A would get rid of that exception. It's an archaic reference to slavery contained in a constitution that was adopted before Colorado became a state in 1876.

Emery, who is black, says it's as if someone burned a cross on his front lawn.

———

12:30 p.m.

Some Colorado voters are using their lunch breaks to turn in their ballots on the final day of the midterm elections.

Voters walked, drove and biked to ballot drop off places around the state Tuesday while others waited to cast ballots in person.

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office says nearly half of voters have cast ballots so far in this year's midterm elections.

Democrats held the lead in voter turnout as of midmorning but Republicans have narrowed the gap.

Colorado voters are roughly divided among the Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated categories. Unaffiliated voters are the largest group with about 1.3 million people.

————

10 a.m.

Democrats are leading turnout so far in Colorado's midterm elections.

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office says 625,650 Democrats had returned their ballots, 6,728 more than Republicans, as of overnight Tuesday. There were also 584,560 unaffiliated voters who had voted by then.

Colorado Republican Party chairman Jeff Hays issued a call Tuesday to members of his party to vote or risk surrendering Colorado to what he called "the most radical Democrats" ever put forward by their party.

Women of all parties hold the edge in voter turnout so far in Colorado. The age block with the biggest turnout for both men and women is people between 41 and 60.

————

8:45 a.m.

Colorado voters are deciding races for governor and seven U.S. House seats as well as 13 statewide ballot questions in this year's midterm election.

One statewide measure would severely restrict where new oil and gas wells can be drilled. Another would raise income tax rates to fund public education. Two competing measures address transportation.

Voters have until 7 p.m. Tuesday to bring their ballots to a drop-off box or a voting center. They can also vote in person at a voting center but must provide identification.

It's too late to return ballots by mail.

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office says 47 percent of the state's nearly 4 million voters had already voted as of Tuesday morning.

————

7:40 a.m.

It's the final day for Colorado voters to cast their ballots in this year's election.

Voters have until 7 p.m. Tuesday to bring their ballots to a drop-off box or a voting center. They can also vote in person at a voting center but must provide identification.

It's too late to return ballots by mail.

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office says 45 percent of the state's nearly 4 million voters had already voted as of Monday night.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.